How many lives have
fossil fuels cost?
Twenty years ago…
In 2003 and 2004, a pair of studies commissioned by the World Health Organization estimated the present day (2000) mortality and disability produced by climate change. Those studies estimated that 455 people die each day because of climate change — meaning that by 2024, 4 million people will have died.
Most of those deaths have gone unmeasured. And in 20 years, the McMichael studies’ estimates of the global burden of climate change have never been updated — while the level of warming has nearly doubled, from 0.6 °C to +1.2 °C.
It’s time for an update.
Proposed Organization
Steering Committee
Study oversight and long-term visioning, including engagement with national governments & international organizations.
Study Planning Team
Study design, including definitions, climate data and models, synthesis strategies, and uncertainty presentation.
Study Synthesis Team
Study synthesis and translation, including data visualization and secondary analysis (sources, economics, interventions).
Working Group 1
Direct impacts (mortality, illness, and injuries) due to extreme temperature, especially heat.
Working Group 2
Direct impacts (mortality and injuries) due to extreme precipitation, including storms and floods.
Working Group 3
Direct impacts (mortality and illness) due to climate change-related sources of air pollution.
Working Group 4a
Mosquito-borne infectious diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and West Nile virus.
Working Group 4b
Water-borne infectious diseases, including cholera, bacterial dysentery, and other diarrheal diseases.
Working Group 4c
Directly-transmitted pathogens, including respiratory (seasonal influenza, tuberculosis, Covid-19) and sexual (HIV).
Working Group 5
Food insecurity, famine, malnutrition, and starvation.
Working Group 6
Pregnancies and children’s health, including miscarriages, pre-term births, low birth weight, and stunting.
Working Group 7
Poor mental health and well-being, including suicides.